The St. Louis Cardinals took the opening game of series with the Cincinnati Reds, scoring a run in the bottom of the 9 th inning to down the Reds 4-3 Tuesday night at Busch Stadium.
The Cards scored in the 1 st and 2 nd to take the early lead, but the Reds came back with two runs in the top of the 4 th to tie it up. Jaun Encarnacion’s solo home run in the 6 th put the Redbirds back on top, only to see their lead disappear with a Cincinnati run in the 7 th .
Along came the 9 th inning and a chance for So Taguchi to be a clutch performer as he was on Sunday in Houston. And, he didn’t disappoint. Taguchi, pinch hitting with Aaron Miles on third base, singled to drive in the winning run.
Jason Isringhausen (3-0) struck out two batters in one inning of relief to earn the victory. Reds reliever Jared Burton (0-1) took the loss.
The Cardinals (25-30) meet the Reds again Wednesday night at Busch. Brad Thompson (4-1) pitches for St. Louis against Cincinnati’s Bronson Arroyo (2-6).
